Home!

Well...we have been home for four days now it's still hard to comprehend what an amazing experience we have all been through.  I feel confident in saying that every one of us feels like this was a once in a lifetime opportunity; from the people that we were able to meet, the sites that we got to visit and the relationships that we formed...everything about this trip exceeded expectations.

 

We can honestly say that the NHL lockout was good to us! :)  We all had hopes of meeting Ovechkin when we left on this adventure, but there is no way we could have predicted just how far our hosts would go with the celebrity encounters.  Oveckin, Datsyuk, Bryzgalov, Kovalchuk, Tretiak, Federov, Myshkin, Yakushev, Tuzik...it was essentially a "who's who" of Russian hockey.  Every single one of them took the time to interact with us, whether it was on the ice, for pictures, or signing autographs...they left us with great memories.  Note: NHL - it's okay to start now!

 

Moscow is a beautiful city and not only did we get to see it, we got to see it in a way that the casual tourist or visitor would not be able to (thanks to our amazing hosts). The buildings are full of history and rich with tradition - I can't tell you the number of times someone in our group said "if only these walls could talk." We were given access to some of Moscow's greatest treasures and had the opportunity to learn about them from private tour guides and legendary athletes and public figures.

 

 

 

Our Russian hosts went far above and beyond what their responsibility was in guiding us.  Not only did they act as our tour guides and lead us through Moscow, they made sure our experience was one to remember.  They got to know us and became our friends.  They wanted to learn from us just as much as we wanted to learn from them.  They felt responsibility in the airlines losing our luggage and for being stuck in traffic. Their first and only priority was to make sure we all left Russia with great memories.  There is no way to properly thank them for their efforts!

 

From a coaching standpoint, we were all very impressed with how quickly our kids formed relationships with the Russian players.  It truly is a testament to the fact that, at the end of the day, they're all just hockey players and kids, and that mentality has no boundaries.  There were many tough goodbyes at the end of the trip and they will undoubtedly remain in touch via Facebook, Twitter and email.



We would also like to thank the U.S. Department of State, specifically SportsUnited, USA Hockey and Minnesota Hockey for the work they did in making this trip a reality.  This was an experience that we will never forget!